Rhythm // Rest

If you’re like me, you push yourself a lot. Always being your worst critic and thinking of different ways to make your schedule more efficient and productive.

I’ve always been a planner. I remember being eight years old and telling my mom my entire life plan. I had it all laid out! College, job, when if was going to get married – all of it. Planning is just how my mind works. It’s how my mind processes things. I have my whole week planned out before I even begin and I generally am pretty good at staying with my schedule and completing all the things I set out to do.

Although, the one thing that is always on the schedule that I never get around to doing… is resting. Just taking a step back and relaxing.

Cause here’s the deal, I’ve always thought that there was this ‘balance’ that I had to find in my scheduling. The right about of work and play.

But I was with my friend, Stewart, the other day and he said, “I don’t like the word balance, because it’s really more of a rhythm. You’re not on top of the mountain the same time you’re in the valley.”

Him saying that reminded me of geese…. Geese.
When I was, probably like 11 years old, I remember overhearing a conversation my mother was having about geese. That, in a Flying V, geese will actually fly faster together and travel farther distances than if they we’re to go solo. That geese will “honk” at each other to encourage them to keep going. That if one gets hurt or sick and goes down, other geese will go down with it to help protect it and try and get it back up. Now those could be cool for unity or teamwork or whatever – but the one I remembered the most was that the lead goose of the Flying V will often fall back and let another goose fly and take point.

Geese understand that you can’t stay at 100mph the whole time. That there is a rhythm to how you do life. You may be in more of a time, or week, of rest than of work, and you don’t need to feel bad about resting. There is no balance, but rhythm.

Remember the story of David and Bathsheba?

It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

– 2 Samuel 11

Thinking about David – it was time for war.
Now most of us have heard that before, but one thing that we may not realize was, that this was David’s only time of the year that he was even able to go to war.
You see, you can’t go during harvest time but you need all your men to gather in the harvest, can’t go in the winter because it’s too difficult and I guess just impractical, and you can’t go in the rainy season. So, when it says, “in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle,” it’s taking about a literal time – the most practical time – that King’s would go to battle and war. David was resting and possibly forfeiting the rest of the year.

I just wonder how many times we rest when we should be at war and at war when we should be resting.

I know, for me, I am juggling so many different things in my life. From Youth Pastoring, Worship leading, full-time student, now camps and retreats, and going to Argentina again in a month – and just all these things going on. It’s not this balance of trying to squeeze the right amount of “veg” time in my schedule, but a rhythm. It’s being sensitive to Holy Spirit and what “season” we are in. Cause I know I don’t want to be sleeping around when I should be out in battle. I want to continuously be aware and focused of my goals and purpose.

The Sabbath is so important! To take that time to rest in Jesus. To refocus. To recharge. It’s not being lazy, but refocusing back to your one true calling and purpose – being a lover of Jesus.

Jesus, the man who is the author and finisher of our faith.
Sometimes I think we get this idea that when Paul talks about “running the race for the prize set before us,” that we have to run to see Jesus. No. That’s stupid.

We don’t run to see Jesus. We see Jesus so we CAN RUN.
(read that again if you need to)

We rest in the knowledge of being a son of God. We rest in the knowledge of being in Him.

Know your season. Take time to refocus and recharge. Rest in Him. Chill.